Living History
by Cakemixo
Summary: What was Guinan doing on Earth in 1893? And why does she not like Q? Story follows Guinan after Time's Arrow Part 2.
1. Chapter 1

May 22nd 1897—Earth Old Time

"Madam Guinan, I am most sorry to see you go."

Guinan couldn't help but smile at the knowing shine in the aged man's eyes. He was one of several attendees at her final tea party, a party that was already beginning to wind its way down. "Mr. Clemens, I am honored by your presence. I will miss you."

Clemens took her hand and kissed it. He eyed the last few attendees and asked, "Would you do the honor of accompanying me outside for a few minutes?"

"I would."

He led the way through a pair of double doors and out into a back garden. The sun was fiercely bright and Clemens covered his eyes and absently walked along the sidewalk, Guinan at his side. "So are you going back to your space-ship?" He pronounced the final world oddly. After four years it still did not roll off his tongue properly.

"Mr. Clemens, you know I'm not supposed to talk about that."

He fished though his pockets until he found a cigar. It was a fitting final mental picture of him. His white suit and hat stood against the lush summer greens. "And you know, Madam Guinan, that I am a time traveler." He took a few puffs before going on. "Because of Mr. Data and his companions, I have walked on another planet. I have met life from other earths. You have kept that secret for me these last four years; you can trust me to do the same."

His charm truly broke through in that. "Yes." She said vaguely, "I'm going to see my father."

Clemens nodded, "He is a lucky man to have a daughter like you. Will you also be meeting with Captain Picard?"

"I will, but not for a long time."

"I know you have a great fondness for him, and that you admire him." He looked her straight in the eyes and amended silently that there was more to it than that. "When are you leaving?"

"I will be gone in about two hours."

Clemens sighed. "Would you dare keep an old man's company while you wait?"

Guinan considered that for a moment. She considered politely saying no but a flash of insight brought a picture of Clemens, those same painfully white clothes, waiting outside the house. It was the nature of the beast; he was not content to leave until the end. This would not set well with her most recent ex-husband, Coli, who was making a special trip from El Auria just to see her. "I would love that."

"Who was that human with you?" asked Coli Graw as he carried her things off the transporter pad and followed her down the corridor to her quarters. The thin, pale El Aurian towered over Guinan.

"A friend." She answered breezily.

"And he knows you are not one of his own kind?" there was more than a hint of accusation in his voice, "You know protocol. You do not reveal your identity during xenopologicical scouts."

The accusation didn't faze her serenity. "That wasn't my fault. I made a report to you all four years ago over this." The door to her quarters parted and they went in. Her seldom used, but ironically more permanent home never felt right after a mission. This time was no different. The walls were a dull grey spotted with artifacts and photographs from various assignments. The furniture was functional but what highlighted it were the larger articles. A D'Nochte hand weaved quilt draped over her couch. In the corner was her prized ornate bow with arrows; a gift a Subare had left her. All reminders of places she could be instead of here.

Graw grunted. "Yes, the time travelers. That does not explain why you allowed him to witness your beam out."

"He was going to stand in the bushes and watch though a window if I didn't." She darted into her adjacent office and immediately took note on the pile of pads on the desk, cluttering the set of Velo ceramics that had already taken up residence. "Are all these from you?"

"Yes." Graw set the luggage down. "You could have had local authorities escort him off the premises."

"Who's going to believe what he saw if he told, hm?" She re-recalled tone of his words. "Coli, what's wrong? This isn't about Mr. Clemens. And what are these for?"

"Your father has been insisting that you retire from this; take a job that offers you less exposure: a scholar. I agree with him. Nadia and Ramil agree as well, and Rina wants to see you more often."

So Coli had been talking to their kids and her sister while was gone. Guinan sighed. "A scholar doing what? This is what I live for. You don't learn about emerging cultures from theory. You walk it. You breathe it. You get into their twisted nuances. You become one with the people."

"You become injured from other's carelessness."

He was referring to the point where she, Mr. Data, Picard, LaForge, Troi, and Crusher were held at gunpoint by Mr. Clemens. During that time, two Viridian time travelers emerged after an Ophidian cane. Mr. Data has successfully fended off the travelers, but the resulting explosion before the time gate opened resulted in her sustaining two cracked rips and a hemorrhaging diaphragm. If Captain Picard had not stayed behind, she could have died. In return, she had gotten a glimpse into her own future and met the most admirable man she had ever known. "That's a risk I'm willing to take." At his hurt expression she added softly, "I'm sorry we annulled over this but I have to be true to myself."

Graw straightened. "Very well, Commander Mikal, Director Stiles expects your debriefing at 0900 tomorrow and the doctor expects you to report for a physical afterwards."

Guinan gave a small sad smile at his sudden formality. "Thank you, Sub-commander Graw."

As he exited the room Guinan went back to her bags. Tucked away in her first one she pulled out a small book. Stored immediately behind it, her thesis pad called her attention and she took that as well. The rest would have to wait. As she sat down and shoved the piled pads to the side, she settled and reread the title of her book:

_A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. _

She smiled as she graced the author's pseudonym on the cover and opened the front of the book to the inscription.

_My dearest Madam Guinan,_

_Please accept this as a token of friendship and as thanks for helping an old man see new ways. May your adventures be plentiful. _

_Sincerely,_

_Samuel Clemens _

_September 9, 1893 _

Re-reading it would have to wait. Stiles would require her final report in the morning. She put the book next to her Velo porcelains and activated her thesis pad and began to write.

_Humans are currently in the mid-industrious phase of their development…_

Within the first few words on the orders on the pad, Guinan knew two things were going to happen: she wasn't going to enjoy her new assignment, and that her father was minutes away from contacting her.

There were certain advantages to the wispy glimpses she received from time to time. She had almost seen the explosion that had taken Mr. Data's head in the mineshaft four years ago before the Varidians arrived. Involuntarily she shuddered at the idea of his head still buried down there. Scientists have long ago confirmed a genetic disposition to anticipate certain events. Her father, Thio, always knew which child was going to contact him next. Sometimes up to hours in advance. "It's a sport; I like to beat them to the call by a minute or two," he joked. It had become more special to him when he realized decades ago she could play the game perhaps better he could.

True to his sport, Guinan had just finished reading the last paragraph of her new orders when her comm chimed. She didn't even verify the called when she opened the visual. "You knew you could get away with this."

"I did not," Thio admitted. His slightly aged dark features on the view screen brightened into a smile. "But I'm glad it worked."

"How did you clear this with the Archeological Division? I thought we were going to Bajor next, not to some government training lab."

"I told them your abilities would be invaluable to their research. They want to test where you're at. They want to train you. I'll be there too."

"But I'm not ready to go home."

Thio's face fell at that comment. "Nadia and I have been worried about you. We heard that you had been injured."

"That was extraordinary circumstances. Nothing like that has happened before."

"But that doesn't mean it won't happen again. Situations can change very fast-too fast for one Precog, even a gifted one to handle all by herself. And you went alone this time."

"You could say the exact same thing if I was working at home." Guinan sighed. "Where's mother?"

"She's been invited to lecture at the university again."

"Oh, her turn again?" That was a family inside joke. Her father had spent the better part of a century as a captain charting solar systems: her mother, a practicing exo-botanist. At any given time one was always guest lecturing.

Thio nodded. "She can't wait to see you come home either." Seeing he was getting somewhere he continued. "You haven't been home in 38 years. Think of it as a follow up expedition. The project is only supposed to last three years."

Resigned, Guinan sighed again. "It's just not the same."

At her frown to that Thio added, "The locals don't bite."


	2. Chapter 2

Guinan stepped off the shuttle and onto her home planet. Her eyes immediately went to the red and purple backdrop of the sky line as it twinkled in the dying light of the day. A memory perfect waning crescent greeted her on the horizon just as it did in her childhood.

This setting was familiar.

But time did move and in ways she hadn't expected as she focused on the individual buildings. Gone was an old dress shop, a food court stood in its place. Gone was a newer warehouse. The playground setting made the neighborhood almost unrecognizable.

This setting was foreign.

As Guinan stepped off the platform, Coli emerged behind her carrying the same pad he had immersed himself with the entire six hour trip. The duration had almost been uncomfortably silent.

"What happed here?" She indicated the playground.

Coli regarded the open space. "About 10 years ago a fire destroyed the entire east wing of the facility. It was decided to tear the rest down and build a park." He paused. "The ground site transporter is this way."

"Are there any other major changes I should know about?" Guinan asked as they both entered the transporter.

Coli shrugged. "Not really."

She wasn't sure that was a good thing or not.

They materialized less than two blocks from her parent's house and Guinan took the lead as the territory became more familiar. "This has been killing me; whose idea was it to make you my chaperone on the return trip?"

It looked as if Coli was about to argue until he caught her sly smile. He smiled back giving her the warmth she remembered from when she first met him years ago. "You don't know?" When Guinan shook her head he continued. "Then I'm not telling you."

They shared a mutual snicker; the cold shoulder he had given her had finally broken away. They approached her parent's house. "Oh come on, was it Father?"

"I'm not telling you." He said in almost a singing voice, but his eyes confirmed it.

Guinan smiled. "Then can I at least know if my chaperone is going to join me and the family for dinner?"

"Sure."

Macord stood out in front of the house and waved as the two approached. Her three hundred years barely showed on her face. "Well it's about time." She stepped out into the yard. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you've been stalling this last decade."

"Hello Mother." Guinan said with a genuine smile as she met her halfway on the property and hugged her. Being home still sensed awkward, but this part still felt good.

"Ramil couldn't make it but everybody else will be here." Macord reached for Coli. "Thanks for bringing her back."

"My pleasure," he stated simply.

"Come on inside. Dinner's almost ready."

"Seriously?" Nadia sputtered as she handed Guinan a plate, "They had you hunt using a spear? Off a boat?"

Guinan nodded to her daughter "Velo women are the primary hunters on the peninsula. I _had_ to learn to hunt from a boat."

Rina snickered from behind her plate. "Was it any easier than hooking cargo with a shuttle?"

_Ouch!_ Guinan thought as she mentally compared the two. Cargo that was only needed at destination often traveled attached to the exterior of the ship in order to free up space on the interior. Cargo cubes would be ferried outside the ship via shuttle before docking it with the hull. As her father's ship orbited a planet she had long forgot the name of, twenty year only Guinan climbed into the cockpit and 'hooked' a newly arrived shipment of seeds from the surface. That cargo never made it out of the bay.

Thio put his hand over his eyes and groaned at that comment. "I still don't know how you did that. We lost gravity for an hour once and it still didn't make as big of a mess as you did in two minutes."

Rina turned to Coli, who looked like he was ready to laugh. "You didn't know this was going to turn into an 'embarrass Guinan' dinner when you agreed to say, did you?"

Coli violently shook his head no.

Macord, who had spent all of dinner listening to the family, laughed.

"So where is Ramil?"

The surprised silence was uncomfortable. Nadia answered. "He's on the colony, remember? Upsilon Rho? No shuttles were scheduled to get him here in time."

"That's great that he's finally starting out on his own."

"Did you forget?" asked Coli.

"No." Guinan frowned. "I don't think he ever told me."

"I thought I told you in my communications." Now it was his turn to frown. "I thought I did."

"I don't remember that either."

"You've been away too long." Rina noted. "You've fallen out of the loop."

"No." Guinan shook her head, confused at her sister's offhand remark. It wasn't unheard of for sons and daughters to stay out of touch from their parents for nearly a century before talking to each other again. "Ramil doesn't have to tell me anything he doesn't want to." Her sister shrugged at that remark and Guinan sighed. It was going to be a long three years.

2 weeks later…

Somewhere among one hundred glowing orb targets bounced on each other, swirled, and ricocheted against the floor. _There can't be a pattern,_ Guinan thought as she readied her hand phaser. In fact, the aimless motions reminded her of what humans called _fireflies_, or what the Denobulans called to their bioluminescent creatures _luxwings_. A trickle of sweat tickled the back of her neck under her bio-recording helmet. She let her mind go blank_. Reaction only_, they had told her.

A beep signaled the start of the exercise and she squeezed off the trigger.

The first shot missed her target completely. The second was no better. Her third attempt finally hit a target.

As she readied her weapon for her forth shot, a little voice in the back of her head stood back and took note of the situation and came up with one question:

_This is placement testing?_ Her mind found its way back to orientation.

_"I'm sure you all are wondering what's going on here." Commandar Osby addressed to her and her father along with around twenty of her cohorts in the auditorium. "Each of you have been reported to possess an above average ability to foresee certain event in the future- a Precog. In all our explorations of the galaxy, no other culture has emerged with this many individuals possessing such ability. Our most current research suggests that we have only scratched the surface with this skill. We believe that, with training, a Precog could potentially take this ability far beyond what anyone has imagined. We have invited you to test that. Our first phase is to determine the individual extent of your abilities. Those who qualify move on to phase II where we will train you in advanced precognition methods."_

Her finger found the trigger again, and again; not caring whether she made or missed.

Instead, she chose to puzzle over the decision to make the group study so suddenly. Three months ago there had been no petition to the government for such a study. In all honesty she should have read up more on the latest breakthroughs, but someone would have said something to her before now. Rina had accused her of falling out of the loop. Maybe she had. She fired at her last target.

For a second or two she stood in the dark. When the lights rose, a rail thin scientist named Dr. Emgaurd emerged from the adjacent watch room with an excited smile on her face. Guinan had been introduced and had seen her a few other times before in the medical labs. "Congratulations, Commander Mikal." She called as she quickly made her way to the shooting platform. "You have successfully completed phase I of our tests."

"I did?" Guinan asked. She didn't think a thorough medical exam with a full battery of brain scans and a single field test would consist the entire phase. Her thoughts derailed as the lab doors parted again allowing Commander Osby and an unfamiliar third figure in a flowing robe to enter.

Emgaurd nodded as she consulted her pad. "And by the way, you've made the highest accuracy score."

The words went by unheard by Guinan as her wispy touch with the future gave her warning bells that she could not place. The second man's robe was loudly out of place as it was the ceremonial uniform of a third tier admiral. But it was his strange smile that left her in trepidation.

"Welcome to phase II, Guinan." Osby stated. "I would like you to meet our consulting researcher on this part of the project, Q."

Q's eyes glinted at the introduction. "We are very impressed with your results."


	3. Chapter 3

_Q: She's an imp, and where she goes, trouble always follows._

_Picard: You're speaking of yourself, Q, not Guinan._

_Star Trek TNG_

"Again." Q commanded to the sweaty and crouched and slightly dazed form of Hardin.

Hardin's small and heavy frame continued to catch his breath as he eyed his holographic opponent: a Klingon. He reached for a fast rising egg of his brow. "Give me a second."

Q openly scoffed, the admiral rope flapping laughably around him. "You don't need a second. Was the extent of you capabilities parlor tricks? I'm not impressed with what I'm seeing here."

Across the exercise floor, and behind the observation glass, Guinan and Thio watched.

Two days have passed since meeting this entity only known as "Q" and Guinan was still unable to shake the strange feeling about him. She nodded to her father. "So what did you find out about him?"

Thio shrugged, "Not much. There's only one record of a Q. He appeared on a deep space vessel undergoing emergency procedures about two years ago."

That was an odd term. "Appeared?"

"His appearance was 'announced in a flash of light, the like of which our technology is incapable of reproducing.'" He caught Guinan's odd look. "Their words, not mine."

She paused a long moment. "Do you feel it too?"

"Feel what?"

Words failed her for a moment. Then, "Q just _feels _wrong."

Thio shook his head.

Guinan sighed, exasperated. "So who made him a third tier admiral?"

"No one. The initial party whom he contacted reported similar attire."

They both paused a moment as Hardin found his feet and stood again at the Klingon. The exercise, they were told, was that something would happen before the program randomly started.

Something must have indeed been happening, the man before Hardin caught on quickly and Q passed him. Hardin, however, was not so lucky with this. The Klingon came to life so fast the El Aurian was upended without any resistance. Q bent over Hardin's frame. "How much more warning can I give you?"

Guinan let out a slow breath to those arrogant words. This Q was the dark side of anthropology. When one enters a culture as an outsider, the Archeological Division has a strict protocol dictating they appear at the bottom of the social order. They are to appeal to the leader for permission to enter their culture; follow any rules they were given. And most importantly, they approach the society they temporarily walk among as though they were a child: full of leaning without preconceived notions. Humility was the default. It was a formula that least likely caused bloodshed.

A memory surfaced, unbidden. About fifteen years ago, Guinan went with three rookie anthropologists to a civilization known as the Nausicaans. There was no blending in with this culture physically so they had approached a faction's head figure, a robust male that had succeeded in winning enough fights and taking care of enough of his enemies that none of the others dared challenge him, in peace and asked permission to enter his faction. Tensions were high but otherwise things had gone well at their first meeting that ended with an invitation for her team to have dinner with the leader. It was only a few minutes into the dinner that one of the rookies, Pran, made a comment about the lack of spice in the food. Insulted, the Nausicaan pulled the knife out of the meat and ran it over Pran's throat. Guinan and the other two barely escaped with their lives.

Q's snappy words brought Guinan back to the present. "All these potential candidates and you were the one that somehow made it. I'm getting ready to fail you in this section if you can't do this."

When presented with disrespect, a Nausicaan had every right to kill the offender. That is their culture.

"Where is Commander Osby?" Guinan breathed.

"Hiding in his office, as usual," Thio commented.

Was it any less meaningful for the El Aurians to address an offender within the confines of their own culture? "This is wrong." She stepped out of the observation lounge.

Q stood over the still kneeling form of Hardin, his back to Guinan. "You're a pathetic excuse for a species. I don't understand what the Continuum saw in you in the first place. How did you ever make it to space? If you fold under this little resistance, you'll never survive what awaits you out there."

"Maybe that's because we prefer to listen and talk instead of fight." Guinan said. "We are no longer cooperating with you."

Q turned and eyed her carefully, more amused by the interruption than anything else. "Ah, yes. 'The Race of Listeners'. And why is that?"

"This is a pointless exercise. I will not let you hurt him."

"For a 'Race of Listeners' you certainly aren't listening now, I am in charge of this experiment."

"And what will you do with this experiment when you have no willing participants?"

"I'm warning you, unless you want to be crestolian sea lizard, don't get in my way."

Guinan recoiled to that remark. With thinly tempered anger she spat, "Is that a threat?"

"Absolutely."

"You will have to do more than threaten us with something that ridiculous to make us back down."

Q considered her words for a brief moment. "You're right. Best make good on it then." He raised his hand as if to snap his fingers.

"Q!" shouted a previously unseen figure perched on top of equipment stacked to the side. This figure was also laughably costumed as a third tier admiral. "What have I told you about upsetting the indigenous population?"

Q sputtered, "She was the one who said an empty threat was no good."

"You shouldn't be threating them."

"Who are you?" Guinan was sure she was not going to like the answer.

The new figure gave her a congenial smile. "I am Q."


End file.
